Herb it thru the grapevine

I hit the Herb Barn for the third - - no, fourth time this year - - on Saturday. Cathy was having a half price sale, and I couldn't resist. I bought a couple of sage plants, some more lamb's ear, and a little more thyme. You never want to run out of thyme.

This year, I planted some of my most used herbs in a large pot next to my deck, so they're very accessible for cooking. Dill, parsley (both Italian flat leaf & curly), and culantro are growing there. Culantro is a cousin of cilantro - - very similar flavor, but it doesn't go to seed. It lasts all season long and is very hardy. I can't wait to make salsa when my tomatoes ripen!

In the garden, I have basil, stevia and burnet. Burnet is a salad herb with a taste that resembles cucumber. I bought it last year at the Herb Barn, thinking it was an annual. As it turns out, the plant stayed green all winter long! We just tilled around it when turning the garden this spring. I guess it's a keeper!

Stevia is supposed to be a perennial, but I've never been successful in keeping it alive through the winter. Stevia is a natural sweetner, 300 times as sweet. One tablespoon is equivalent to one cup of sugar! No calories, no chemicals. I like to pluck a leaf and eat it right off the plant. Paired with mint, it's like a stick of gum. Paired with my pineapple sage, it has the delightful flavor of a pina colada! Paired with rosemary, it's just weird.

In my landscaping areas, I grow perennials such as rosemary (my plant is 7 years old and HUGE), mint, oregano, sage, thyme, and a few others. Pineapple sage has a wonderful flavor, plus has gorgeous red flowers in late summer that attract butterflies.

This year I added a couple of St. John's Wort plants in my flower bed. It blooms little yellow rose-like buds. I asked Cathy at the Herb Barn if I could eat the leaves and get happy, but she said "We don't promote medicinal uses, just culinary." Oh well. I figure the little yellow flowers will make me happy anyway.

The Herb Barn (York, SC) is closing for the summer this year. Cathy's going on vacation! She'll reopen in the fall, and will host her traditional craft fair on Thanksgiving weekend. If you hurry, you can still pick up some half price plants this year, but only through the end of May.

So herby up!

For more nonsense, unsolicited advice, and insight about living in Lake Wylie, visit our Lake Wylie real estate website - TheLakeWylieMan.com!